Chargers’ Kenny Wiggins, left, and the Rams’ Casey Sayles battle for a position during a joint practice at StubHub Center in Carson on Saturday, August 5, 2017. (Photo by Kyusung Gong, Orange County Register/SCNG)

COSTA MESA — In March, the Chargers signed Russell Okung, making him one of the NFL’s highest-paid left tackles. In April, the Chargers drafted three offensive linemen, including two within the first three rounds.

So why — a week into August — are the Chargers starting a former practice-squad journeyman at right guard?

“I’m doing something right, you know?” Kenny Wiggins said.

Tuesday is Wiggins’ 29th birthday, which means he isn’t bubbling with unrealized potential. But with just five weeks left until the Chargers’ regular-season opener in Denver, the 6-foot-6, 314-pound lineman has made himself a stable part of the rotation — one who has experience at just about every spot on the offensive line.

Not bad for someone who was nearly out of the league.

Related Articles

Three years ago, Wiggins was out of practice-squad eligibility. Undrafted out of Fresno State in 2011, he had spent his first two seasons with the Ravens and the 49ers without making the active roster. The Chargers promoted him in November 2013, then proceeded to cut him twice in the span of 21 months.

For most of 2014, he was without a job. Although he had workouts lined up with different teams after the season, thoughts of a new career — perhaps in broadcasting — flickered in the back of his mind.

But injuries prompted the Chargers to give him another call that December. In Week 17 at Arrowhead Stadium, Wiggins made his NFL debut: a single snap on special teams.

Less than nine months later, the Chargers cut him. Again.

This absence didn’t last long. After D.J. Fluker injured his ankle in the 2015 season opener, Wiggins again joined the team. He appeared in every game for the rest of the year, and added eight offensive starts to his resume. After spending last season as a reserve, he re-signed with the Chargers in March, inking a one-year deal.

A month later, his future blurred again. The Chargers used the No. 38 overall pick on Western Kentucky’s Forrest Lamp, and the No. 71 overall pick on Indiana’s Dan Feeney. In doing so, they added two potential starters to the offensive line — or, at the very least, two candidates to bump Wiggins down the depth chart.

Those moves didn’t exactly shock Wiggins.

“Being an undrafted free agent, I know they’re always going to be looking at me — and looking at me being replaced,” he said. “That’s just how it is. That’s the nature of the business, and the position I’m in. I should have played better in college.”

But last week, Lamp tore his ACL, prematurely ending his rookie season. Since then, Wiggins has taken every significant first-team snap at right guard.

Asked what stood out about Wiggins, Coach Anthony Lynn said: “I think his experience being in this league, and knowing how to be a backup in this league — that you have to be able to play multiple spots. He’s very dependable that way.

“But right now, he’s competing for a starting job as well.”

Lynn insists that Feeney, an All-American at Indiana, is very much in the running to start at right guard. But the Chargers have used him primarily as their backup center, pushing former third-round pick Max Tuerk to guard.

There’s still time for that to change. But with each passing practice, Wiggins looks more and more like the frontrunner.

Jack Wang covers the Chargers, the latest NFL team to relocate to Los Angeles. He previously covered the Rams, and also spent four years on the UCLA beat, a strange period in which the Bruins' football program often outpaced their basketball team. He is a proud graduate of UC Berkeley, where he spent most of his time in The Daily Californian offices in Eshleman Hall — a building that did not become earthquake-safe until after his time on campus.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.